Is Agave Nectar Healthy?

Agave nectar was long touted to be low glycemic in nature. Along with its mild flavor, super sweet factor, and inulin properties (prebiotic), it was a dream come true for many. The problem arose when studies on the negative health affects of fructose started coming out — many agave nectars are over 50% fructose. Furthermore, many companies were secretly adding high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to their nectar without alerting the public.

Will agave nectar spike your blood sugar? Maybe, maybe not. Keep in mind that our bio-individuality will make a difference as to whether or not sweeteners like agave nectar, brown rice syrup, and other touted low glycemic sweeteners will raise your blood sugar. If in doubt, test it!

But even if your blood sugar and insulin levels aren’t affected by agave nectar, your liver could be because of the high fructose content.

Is agave nectar worse than HFCS? I’m going to answer that with a big fat no. The reason some people say this is because some agave nectars have a higher fructose content than HFCS. However, there are so many other reasons to choose agave nectar over HFCS, including that most foods made with agave nectar are generally of a higher quality than those made with HFCS. Read about more reasons here.

Therefore, if you choose to use agave nectar, please invest in a clean product. Find a company you can trust and who processes their agave as minimally as possible. Not all agave nectars are mostly fructose.Ultimate Superfoods stands by their product as being only 42% fructose, and raw – so no overheating. BabyCakes(they are a gluten free and refined sugar free bakery!) swears by Organic Nectars Raw Agave Syrup for their baked goods.